Microsoft Copilot Training
Move beyond first-prompt experimentation. In three focused half-days, learn how to make Microsoft Copilot a reliable part of how you and your team work across Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint, and beyond.
A foundations-first Microsoft Copilot course. Three focused half-days that start with the underlying mechanics of how Copilot actually works — prompts, parameters, bias control, RAG, and agents — then put those skills to work in hands-on labs producing real Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams output.
Course Format and Delivery
All sessions are delivered live by an expert instructor in a fully interactive online environment. 20% off for group bookings when booking 3 or more attendees from the same organization on the same course dates in the same transaction.
About this course
Are you ready to turn Microsoft Copilot from a novelty into a workflow you can rely on?
Most Copilot training starts at the Microsoft 365 app surface: here's how to ask Copilot to summarize a meeting, draft a slide, write a follow-up email. That approach produces students who can demo Copilot but can't get reliable results when it actually matters. The output looks fluent, then quietly drifts on the details that decide whether a deliverable is usable or has to be redone.
This course is built differently. We start with the foundations — how Copilot actually works under the hood, how to craft prompts that produce consistent output, how parameters like temperature shape what comes back, and how to design bias rules and guardrails that keep Copilot honest. From there we layer in retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), Copilot agents, and meta-AI techniques: using Copilot to generate prompts, rules, and agents of its own. Only once those foundations are in place do we put them to work producing real Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams output in hands-on labs.
It's the progression George Churchwell, our lead AI facilitator, calls "puppy to service dog." Skip the foundations and the student will blow up on the first piece of high-stakes work. Earn them, and the apps become the easy part.
What you will earn
13 PMI® Professional Development Units (PDUs) — 10 Ways of Working and 3 Business Acumen — contributing toward your chosen PMI certification.
You'll also leave with a personal Copilot playbook: prompt templates, workflow patterns, and a self-assessment you can apply to your role immediately.
What you will learn
- The fundamentals of how Microsoft Copilot works under the hood — large language model behavior, tokens, context windows, and what's actually happening when you hit Send.
- How to create prompts that produce reliable, on-brand output rather than fluent-sounding drift.
- How parameters like temperature shape Copilot's responses, and when to push for creativity vs. precision.
- Bias and hallucination: how they show up in Copilot, how to recognize them, and how to design bias-control rules and review patterns that catch them.
- Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG): how Copilot grounds in your tenant data, and how to structure files, SharePoint content, and prompts so it grounds well.
- Copilot agents and Copilot Studio fundamentals — what an agent is, when to build one, and how to design one that holds up in real use.
- Meta-AI techniques: using Copilot to generate its own prompts, rules, and agents.
- How to evaluate Copilot output critically and where to insert human review.
- Hands-on labs producing real outputs in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams — the apps as the destination, not the starting point.
- Responsible, ethical, and secure AI practices, including data handling, sensitivity labels, and what Copilot does (and doesn't) do with your information.
- A framework for rolling Copilot out across a team — identifying high-value use cases, training peers, and measuring impact.
What you will need
To get the most out of this course, participants should have day-to-day familiarity with the Microsoft 365 suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and PowerPoint). Prior experience with Microsoft Copilot is helpful but not required — foundational concepts are covered. Access to a Microsoft 365 Copilot license is recommended so you can practice during sessions, though instructor demos will be provided for those without a license.
This course is great for
Knowledge workers and managers
Anyone who wants to use Microsoft Copilot effectively as part of their daily workflow across Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and PowerPoint.
Team leads and project managers
Leaders responsible for rolling Copilot out across their team or department and turning it into a real productivity gain.
Functional specialists
Business analysts, marketers, finance pros, HR practitioners, and operations leads designing Copilot workflows for their domain.
IT and M365 administrators
Microsoft 365 admins and IT leaders preparing their organization for responsible, secure Copilot adoption.
Topics Covered
Three half-day sessions following a foundations-first arc. Each session earns the next.
Foundations: How Copilot Actually Works
- Introduction to Microsoft Copilot and the underlying large language model
- Tokens, context windows, and what's really happening when you submit a prompt
- Creating effective prompts: structure, instruction, context, examples, constraints
- Temperature and other parameters — tuning Copilot for creativity vs. precision
- Bias and hallucination: how they show up in Copilot, why they happen
- Bias control rules and guardrails that keep output honest
- Why "type and hope" fails on high-stakes work
Grounding & Extension: RAG, Agents, and Meta-AI
- Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG): grounding Copilot in your tenant data
- Structuring files, SharePoint, and Loop content so Copilot retrieves the right context
- Copilot agents and Copilot Studio: what an agent is and when to build one
- Designing agent workflows that hold up in real use
- Meta-AI: using Copilot to generate its own prompts, rules, and agents
- Quality control and verification patterns for AI-generated work
- Responsible AI, security, and what Copilot does (and doesn't) do with your data
Applied Labs: Real Outputs in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams
- Hands-on labs applying the foundations and grounding techniques to produce real deliverables
- Word: drafting and refining documents from prompts and source material
- Excel: analysis, formula generation, surfacing insights from data
- PowerPoint: building decks from documents, refining for tone and audience
- Outlook: inbox triage and email drafting
- Teams: meeting recaps, action items, and follow-up
- Capstone: design and build a complete Copilot workflow for your own role
- Rollout and adoption planning — taking what you learned back to your team
Facilitated By
George Churchwell
Facilitator
As a visionary in AI LLMs, Prompt Engineering, and AI for Excellence, George has used AI to create new and innovative solutions, including purpose-built GPTs. His creation of AI applications, from sales intelligence scripts targeting a $1 billion market to AI-assisted eLearning content for Cisco, underscores a unique blend of technical prowess and strategic insight. His journey from launching startups to guiding them to successful exits is a testament to his unwavering passion for strategic innovation and steadfast commitment to team building.
Questions about this course?
Phone: 1-800-373-7028
Email: info-us@softed.com
We'd love to have the opportunity to discuss how we can assist your business.